To cry or not to cry? Teaching in quarantine.

Has technology reached us too fast? Did you have enough time to realize 2.0 life was getting close? This pandemic has taken all of us by surprise, that's for sure. But how can we get over it without losing track of reality? Don't panick! Human beings have the ability to adapt to almost every unexpected situation, except heartbreaks.. They'are still difficult to overcome. Anyway, 2020 is showing itself as a Pandora box and we need to be ready for anything and everything. 

If you thought being a business person or a sales person was a difficult task to carry when working from home, it's because you are not a teacher, of course. Some teachers have met the devil (aka online classes) in the past few months, and some others (like me, luckily) have found the best way to do what they love. Either group you belong to, the challenge and pain are real. To adapt or not to adapt? To study or not to study? To continue working after hour or not? These are the real matters we are facing. 

Even though online classes date back from the time the internet was created, it's still a pending subject for many educators. But one of the greatest skills teachers have is adaptability, together with will. Of course there are different kinds of teachers, but in this blog I'll focus on the ones that enjoy what they do and truly care about their students. So, which are some of the challenges and difficulties teachers are currently facing? Will we be able to survive the pandemic-teaching style? Just keep on reading...

Challenge #1 - TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICES

What kind of deviuos being created such complex and EXPENSIVE devices? You were lucky enough if COVID-19 surprised you living in the USA, UK, or any other developed country, where you can access the latest technological stuff without needing to sell a kidney to afford it. Living in South America during this time is a different thing. Computers cost an arm and a leg, tablets are not an option, and I will not even mention mobile phones. Let's suppose you already had a computer at home, now the real struggle is how to divide your schedule with the rest of the family to use it. And if this is not enough, learning how to "teach" online takes more time than reading The Canterbury Tales in Old English. 

Challenge #2- A DECENT WIFI SIGNAL

It doesn't matter how much you pay for it, or how many megabytes or gigabytes (I have no idea how they are called) your WiFi has, it will stop working when you need it the most, just like printers when we were still teaching the "old way". Videos will froze in the worst moment ever, always distorting your face and voice, allowing your students to have a great time laughing at you and probably taking screenshots. But, it works perfectly in your free time when you waste precious time watching Netflix or checking instagram. 

Challenge #3- TIME MANAGEMENT (is this even possible?)

I have read and researched about this, and I even gave a whole lesson on this topic! But I still can't manage my time effectively. Most of the time you don't even realize you have been checking, or preparing a class for the last 3 or 4 hours. Maybe you don't even go to the toilet or eat, because anxiety and desperation are your best friends now, and you want to finish with everything ASAP. Do we even have different places for work and food? Most of us share our "computer desk" with the lunch dishes, the water bottles, the tea cup you drunk this morning, and probably the books you need to read for the assignment you were supposed to finish last week. Because we don't have time for a propper shower, but we still enroll in every webinar, course or especialization we come across. 

Challenge #4-  FINDING A "QUIET" PLACE TO WORK

If you live alone, or have a special room for working from home, consider yourself the luckiest person in the planet. The rest of the humanity, the ones that have to share a house with others, suffer in silence, while a parent, or a brother, or a child, screams and yells next to them. We need to "thank" engineers for creating such thorough microphones and headsets, that let you hear and reproduce each and every sound that's around you. Did your "housemate" flush the toilet? It's heard. Did your housemate sneez? It's heard. Did your dog get too excited with another dog through the window? Well, that can leave anyone deaf for a few minutes. Quiet places are more difficult to find than the white hair you saw in the mirror while brushing your teeth in the morning. 

So, how can we overcome all this? Is there any possibility of survival? Well, yes there is. Just keep doing what you love, don't waste your energy in negative stuff, don't watch too much tv, and why not, drink a glass of wine a day. Let's use humor and common sense to survive this unforgettable moment we are witnessing.